Gop Primary Canceled

Party Blames Mail For Missed Deadline

April 25, 1995|By BARRY FLYNN Daily Press

Republicans will not be allowed to hold a primary as planned to choose their nominee for the House of Delegates from the 97th District and instead will have to pick a candiate another way, the chairman of the state Board of Elections said Monday.

The primary that had been scheduled for June 13 is now ruled out because documents from the party's district committee certifying the candidates for it did not reach the board by last Wednesday's deadline, said Pamela Clark, board chairwoman.

The district committee's offical certification of the four candidates seeking to oppose incumbent Democrat Del. George Grayson apparently were lost in the mail.

Williamsburg Postmaster Nancy Rettinhouse confirmed that the documents had been sent and said they should have reached the board in just one day. However, Rettinhouse said the Richmond post office still had not located them by Monday afternoon and she did not know the reason for the delay.

But no matter what the reason for the delay, state law does not permit the board to waive the rules and hold a primary, Clark said.

Clark said the GOP district committee now has until May 13 to chose one of three other candidate selection methods: a mass meeting, a convention or a canvass.

The district includes Williamsburg, James City County, New Kent County and a small portion of Henrico County.

Three of the candidates who filed candidacy petitions with the Republican district committee, Sid Lanier, Joe Mann and Dan Skelton expressed disappointment that the chance for a primary had been lost. The fourth, Steven C. Smith, could not be reached.

The impact on the party and the process of choosing a candidate is unclear, at least in part because nobody knows which of the alternates the party will choose.

A canvass resembles a primary in that registered votes cast ballots for their choice for nominee. The difference is that a firehouse primary, as a canvass is informally called, is supposed to be confined to party members and is conducted by the party, not the board of elections.

Conventions and mass meetings are similar in that a candidate is chosen at a gathering of registered voters. The main difference is that convention delegates must register ahead of time while any registered voter who says he is a Republican can show up at the mass meeting at the last minute and vote.

Mann's wife, Carol Mann, is the district committee chairwoman and is thus responsible for the paperwork for the primary. She sent the certification to the board last Monday by certified mail, she said.

Skelton and Lanier both faulted Carol Mann for not taking enough care to make sure the documents had been filed.

"It was not an honest mistake," Skelton said. "She did not act prudently enough. She did not exercise sufficient care. And I question the motive for that," he said.

Lanier said Carol Mann should have taken the documents to Richmond in person.

Carol Mann responded: "I did comply with all of the procedures and tried my utmost best to get it there. And our post office even assured me it would get there the next day. And I took the added precaution of getting a certified, return receipt requested."